Were your ancestors principalia?

Often, people trace their family trees because of tales of prominence in their hometown. Many hope to uncover at least principalia ancestors and nothing gives a Filipino genealogist more pride than finding a forebear with the title of “Don”. One might ask who or what is a principalia. A simplistic definition is that they were the privileged class during the Spanish period, privilege derived from the fact that their ancestors were the ruling elite when the Spaniards conquered the archipelago. As compensation, the Spaniards created the principalia class as a ready and direct link between the people and the colonial administration.

However, one must delineate the principalia from what Dr. Norman G. Owen was first to call the “super-principalia”. The super-principalia descended from Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman, as well as from Tupas of Cebu. Proven descendants include presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Bernardo-Santos family of Manila. Senator Jovito Salonga and singer Lea Salonga are also considered Lakandula descendants though no documentation exists. Only putative descendants for King Tupas can be forwarded, such as the Abellanas of Cebu, which has produced Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman, former wife of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

So who were the principalia? Padre Juan Ferrando of the University of Santo Tomas wrote in 1870 that the (principalia) was much more ancient than the conquest of the Islands and were the true aristocracy and heirs of hereditary leadership that constituted the true nobility. Owen in 1974 wrote that the principalia was a political term and its usage was absolute, not relative, unlike our term ‘upper class’ today. And while the principalia had a strong economic base, before a wealthy man could become a principal he had to transmute this wealth, by a process difficult to document but not to imagine, into political and social currency.

The Blair and Robertson compendium and former president Laurel elaborated the principalia’s composition; the gobernadorcillo, chief of police, lieutenants or juezes, former gobernadorcillos, and cabezas de barangay in office for at least 10 years without any bad record. Some included the awardees of the Medal of Civil Merit, the directorcillo or escribano, the vacunadorcillo, and the two testigos acompañados (or suplentes). All were exempt from tribute and forced labor.

The principalia’s duties included being in charge of the construction of public works, exterminating locusts, persecuting gamblers, performing other police duties and, their true raison d'être, supervision of tax collection, making the town census (to know who must pay taxes), and preparation of the lists of polos y servicios (or forced labor). As payment, the cabeza received 1.5% of his tribute collection. He, his wife, and his eldest son (who was deputized to assist his father) were exempted from paying tribute and rendering forced labor, used the titles Don and Doña, and were given preferential treatment during ceremonies. The gobernadorcillo received a monthly salary of ?2, on top of all the above-mentioned entitlements.

While the earliest principalia descended from pre-Hispanic royalty, those at the end of the 19th century were no longer the same. Later cabezas were merely tribute collectors and no longer had the social ascendancy they used to have. So, if your ancestor became principalia after 1863, chances are they were of the new breed of principalia.

History teaches us that because of the difficulty of collecting tribute, many cabezas had to resort to creative accounting and other dishonest acts. Having a principalia ancestor is a badge of pride for many, but genealogy is more enriching if the focus is not simply on its superficial aspects. When tracing family trees, one should look at the general picture, of the journey of one's ancestors, and the family's ability to survive and adjust in every generation.